Democrat States Hike Spending at Quadruple the Rate of GOP States

States under full Democrat control have increased total spending over 400 percent faster than states under full Republican control, according to a newly released analysis by Americans for Tax Reform.

Looking at the National Association of State Budget Officers’ most recent state expenditures report, ATR compared the growth in both General Fund and Total Expenditures from 2011 to 2013 in the 13 states where Democrats have unified control of the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the legislature, as well as the 24 states where the GOP has total control of state government. Key findings include:

- Significantly higher levels of growth in government spending in the 13 states where Democrats have unified control of the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the legislature, compared with the 24 states where the GOP has total control of state government.

- General Fund Expenditures went up 6.25 percent over 2011-2013 in GOP-run states, whereas in Democrat-controlled states General Fund Expenditures went up 9.95 percent. This 3.7 point difference means that Democrat states increased general fund spending 59 percent faster than GOP states since 2010.

- Total Expenditures increased 1.11 percent from 2011-2013 in Republican-run states, whereas Total Expenditures in Democrat-controlled states shot up by 5.55 percent. This 4.44 percent difference means that Democrat-controlled states increased total spending over 400 percent faster than in Republican-run states.

-10 Republican states actually decreased their total expenditures from 2011 to 2013, whereas all Democrat states increased theirs.

This spending analysis follows the release of a recent ATR report on state tax changes since the 2010 election, which found that Democrat governors had enacted nearly 60 billion dollars in tax increases since 2011, while Republican governors have cut taxes by $38 billion during that same period.

It seems the term tax and spend liberal isn’t just a cliché. Based on the numbers, if Democrats run your state government, it means, on average, higher taxes and more spending than if Republicans are in charge of state government.